The Canterbury-Otago tussock grasslands cover the dry eastern plains and inland basins of New Zealand's South Island, stretching between the Pacific coast and the Southern Alps across the Canterbury and Otago regions, taking in the Canterbury Plains, the Mackenzie Basin and the Maniototo. Lying in the rain shadow of the Alps, the ecoregion has a dry climate with warm summers and cold winters, and its highland basins are the driest ground of all, receiving less than 500mm of rain a year. Where coastal broadleaf and kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) forests once grew, fire and clearance have left open communities of drought- and fire-hardy native tussock grasses such as hard tussock (Festuca novae-zelandiae), silver tussock (Poa cita) and tall snow tussocks (Chionochloa). The grasslands shelter endemic reptiles including the Otago skink and grand skink, whose range has shrunk by roughly 90 percent through land modification, overgrazing, weeds and recurring fires. For gardeners, the region is home to ornamentally useful native genera such as the cypress-like shrub Hebe cupressoides and the spiky alpine herbs Aciphylla.

The Eastern Australia mulga shrublands, also mapped as the Mulga Lands, sweep across the semi-arid inland of New South Wales and Queensland on flat plains and low rises of ancient, infertile soils. The signature vegetation is low mulga (Acacia aneura) woodland and shrubland, interwoven with chenopod shrublands of saltbush and bluebush and codominant eucalypts such as poplar or bimble box (Eucalyptus populnea), coolibah (E. coolabah), and silver-leaved ironbark (E. melanophloia). The climate is relatively arid with unpredictable, low annual rainfall, so plant life flushes quickly after rains, briefly blanketing the country in wildflowers and filling ephemeral freshwater and saline lakes that draw large congregations of waterbirds. The region holds roughly 747 plant species, yet its mammal fauna has been devastated: of 56 mammals once present, 23 are now extinct or extirpated. About 80 percent of the ecoregion still carries natural vegetation, though much of it is degraded by overgrazing, and drought-hardy native genera like Acacia and Eucalyptus point to the kinds of plants suited to dry, low-water gardens here.

The Al-Hajar foothill xeric woodlands and shrublands wrap around the lower flanks of Arabia's Hajar Mountains, spanning Oman and the United Arab Emirates from Jalan Bani Buhassan in southern Oman north to Khasab and the area south of the Musandam peninsula. Below the cooler montane belt, this is a hot, hyper-arid country of rocky slopes and gravel plains, where Acacia tortilis is the dominant tree and the Al Saleel area holds one of the largest tracts of Acacia in Arabia. Wadis that hold a little more moisture support ghaf, wild almond, Wonderboom fig, and Christ's thorn jujube. Despite the harsh conditions the ecoregion carries a high proportion of rare and endemic species and remains a stronghold for the Arabian tahr, its flagship animal, alongside Arabian gazelle, caracal, and Blanford's fox. For gardeners in similar dry climates, its drought-hardy natives such as Acacia and jujube point to plants suited to heat and scarce rainfall.

The Al-Hajar montane woodlands and shrublands cover the highest reaches of the Hajar Mountains in eastern Arabia, spanning portions of northern Oman and the United Arab Emirates above roughly 1,200 metres, including the summit area around Jebel Shams. Vegetation shifts with elevation: olive and Sideroxylon (Monotheca) woodlands occupy the lower montane belt, while open woodlands of Zeravschan juniper (Juniperus seravschanica) characterize the high peaks, often mixed with wild olive and watered by acacias and figs along seasonal watercourses. Despite being wetter than the surrounding foothills, it remains a mountain desert with low annual rainfall, hot summers, and cool winters that bring occasional rain, hail, and snow to the highest ground. The juniper woodlands are a botanical stronghold, holding a large share of Oman's total flora along with a number of endemic plant taxa, and the range shelters the endemic Arabian tahr (Arabitragus jayakari) plus several endemic lizards; overgrazing by goats and camels and climate-driven juniper decline are leading conservation concerns. For gardeners, the native flora here illustrates how junipers and olives can anchor a drought-tolerant, cold-snap-resilient mountain planting.

The Alai–Western Tian Shan steppe stretches across the lowland and loess plains at the western foot of the Tien Shan and Alay mountains in Central Asia, spanning parts of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It belongs to the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, where ephemeroid herb and grass vegetation dominates alongside coniferous Juniperus woodlands and relict fruit and nut forests; characteristic steppe plants include bulbous meadow-grass (Poa bulbosa), sedges (Carex), wormwoods (Artemisia), and wild ryes (Elymus). The climate is sharply continental, with hot, dry summers, mild winters, a wide annual temperature swing, and only modest precipitation. The region is botanically rich, with more than 2,000 recorded plant species, and it serves as a recognized centre of crop diversity holding important wild relatives of cultivated plants; the critically endangered Saiga antelope is its flagship animal. For gardeners, the area's native junipers and its wealth of wild fruit and nut relatives reflect a flora long tied to cultivation.

The Altai steppe and semi-desert spans parts of Kazakhstan, China, and Russia, forming a transition zone between the conifer forests of the Altai Mountains and the drier Kazakh plains, with the upper Irtysh River and the Tarbagatay Mountains as landmarks. Grasslands dominate, characterized by fescue and feather-grass (Stipa) along with hardy shrubs, while poplar and willow line the watercourses. The climate is sharply continental, with short warm summers and long, cold, dry winters (a humid continental, warm-summer Dfb type). The region's dry grasslands support birds of prey, including endangered steppe eagles, saker falcons, and eastern imperial eagles, alongside the demoiselle crane and mammals such as Altai marmots and the elusive Pallas's cat. Much of the ecoregion remains lightly developed and used mainly for livestock grazing, though overgrazing and agricultural pressure are the main threats, with formal protection still limited.